This is hysterical. My best friend is from Sweden and we love talking about how she used to watch American shows growing up and make up her own imaginary words to go with the opening sequence. She's so funny.

I was listening to this without watching the video--if you're half-zoned out, you can't even tell it's fake English! I, at least, to really concentrate in order to recognize that what they were saying didn't make any sense! Thanks for sharing, Joanna. Made me laugh.

Hilarious! I am fluent in fake German and fake French, and I always wondered what fake English would sound like. I kept turning up the volume because I thought they were speaking real English, and I just couldn't catch what they were saying.

My family is Puerto Rican and mom always said that when she was growing up, she and her little brother would pretend to speak English and would just go "Warhsha warsha warsha warsha" because that's what it sounded like to them.

wow, so trippy, it really tricks me into thinking I might know what they are saying only to admit to myself that I do not! Sort of what happens when I try to listen or watch Spanish tv, etc I think I get it but I don't!

btw that link that Valerie posted above- is HILARIOUS! love the dancing!

Glad to know I'm not crazy then, I turned up the volume twice! This summer my family and I visited Puerto Vallarta while on our trip to Mexico (our parents are from there so we are fluent in Spanish and English), and the resort we stayed in had these "cast member" type people that would mingle with the guests, play games, and some other nonsense. Some of them spoke English, but it sounded SO weird! My sister and I tried to figure out why they were talking like that, and came to the conclusion that they were trying to mimic the American accent. It sounded like some crazy surfer game show host!

I am a language teacher (English and Spanish) so I'm very aware that this is what I sound like to my students! When I took French (I only lasted a few months sadly) this is what my instructor sounded like to me!

I am an American and I totally thought I just couldn't hear the video, I just kept turning up the volume! I wonder if non-English speakers think American English is pretty like i think other languages are? I have this feeling no.

I was *just* about to comment on how germanic the intonation sounded - but I see you already got there! That is definitely what struck me first. Thanks Jo, I found this video really really interesting.

haha, Lindsay, that is so cute:) "When I was in Italy I had an Italian friend who said his favorite languages to hear were German and American english, because they were cute/made him laugh. His least favorite was the UK English."

This was especially interesting to watch as an American living in Madrid and teaching English. And yes, German and English are often comparable. I've also noticed just seeing German tourists here that it seems as though their tone and expressiveness also seems similar to Americans.

Thanks so much for posting this!! i've always wondered what english sounded like to foreigners. English is my mother's 4th language after french, turkish and spanish and she said that english sounded like a lot of W's and "sh" sounds lol. For this video I kept making the sound louder b/c although it sounded like english words I couldn't make out what they were saying. Surprisingly, it kinda sounds a little german.

Awesome! When this video first started, I thought somehow you had accidentally linked to a version of the video that had been re-dubbed in actual English...until I kept listening, of course :)

When I went to Paris a couple of years ago, we had a waiter at an outdoor cafe who didn't speak much English (and we spoke almost no French) and when he realized we were American he said, "McDonald's! Obama! Yes we can!" And I thought it was so interesting that those were the first American words/phrases that he could think of.PS Valerie's link is hysterical, and really does sound like English :)

I speak English but since I'm very hearing impaired, this is what people always sound like to me--especially in movies/tv shows. It's almost impossible to figure out what's being said without captions. So this would probably be a good way to show people what it's like to be hearing impaired, as well.

I read somewhere that Kate Winslet (I think) described doing the American accent as speaking words like you were "chewing them." I had to think about it a bit, but she's totally right! Brits let words trail off but we Americans have lots more hard stops. To say the word "car" in a British accents is to let it linger, and keep driving through the air. To say it like an American is to put on the brakes and "bite" down on that 'r.' Ha, am I making any sense?

I teach English in Japan, so I'm always wondering what I must sound like to my kids. It's kinda funny to think that English sounds just like Japanese does to me right now, a bunch of sounds blurred together. I am curious if English sounds different to speakers of different languages...

When he was a toddler my son spoke fake English all the time. None of the words made any sense, but the cadence, rhythm, and sound was like English. It was his own little private language. He was clearly carrying on a conversation. It sounded like this.

we sound so scandanavian! I thought it was norweigen or something with american accents. They kind of sing their words and that's what it reminded me of. Also, do we really use the "sh" sound so much? Crazy.

Well, American. The different English, Welch, Irish, Scottish, South African, Australian, Kiwi, and other english language accents would make many other interesting movies. But yeah, this is pretty much how American sounds.

I too kept turning up the volume and straining to understand! This is often how I feel (as an American living in Germany) when someone talks too fast and doesn't enunciate their words - the German just sounds like gibberish and I'm left staring at them like an idiot!

ahhhh. this is a little too close to home. I'm living in Japan, but I don't really speak japanese, I can pick up a word or two while straining to find understanding throughout the whole conversation. strange to feel that way listening to english tho.

I had to pause this a couple of times because I was laughing so hard! I like how you can still kind of figure out what they are talking about because they are acting it out so well. I think she wants to have a baby and he thinks it will ruin their lives.

My brain was trying so hard to understand the gibberish. They did throw in a few words though that were intelligible, which made it even worse, haha. When I hear non-English languages, though, I don't feel like my brain processes their languages like this.

Isn't it funny that even though they the actors are mostly just speaking gibberish they still sound so completely American! There's no hiding those accents. As an Australian living in California I quite often wonder what I must sound like to other people. My accent is hardly ever recognised as Australian as I don't sound like the Crocodile Hunter - note to Hollywood: hardly any Australians actually sound like that so please, please stop with the over the top accents Australian characters are given! I have always wondered if non-English speakers can hear the difference in our accents and work out where we're from. Even though I get asked where I'm from almost on a daily basis, it's very rarely people who speak English as their second language asking me. Maybe they don't pick up the tiny nuances that make our accents sound so different to other English speakers. A Spanish friend here has told me that she can't tell the difference between the way her Australian husband and I pronounce certain words and how our American friends pronounce the same words. Of course to us there is a huge difference but apparently she just can't hear it.

Well firstly, it's American English, which is very different to British English and the way we speak..I managed to understand a few words...I thought it was the American accent I wasn't understanding...